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***OFFICIAL MARYLAND AT MINNESOTA IN-GAME THREAD!!!!***

Back in The Barn after a big win in Madison, the crowd should be rocking for this key Big Ten game. The Gophers need to build off the road win and show themselves that they are an upper echelon Big Ten team. To do that, they have to take care of business at home vs Maryland. Get up early, get the Barn animals into it and don't let Maryland think they have a chance.

Gophers first. Wishing Ryan all the good fortune. He comes from great stock. I remember Flip often. The Gophers sure could use another Flip right now. I went to both Minnesota and years later Maryland. I have no allegiance to Maryland sports. Gophers all the way! Go Gophers! Beat the turtles.

Very large game. A win would give us a decent chance having a 6-1 record when we play Michigan, that would be fun. Hopefully a large, loud crowd helps put the gophers over the top tonight. Our recipe for big ten success so far seems to be Coffey being the best player on the floor and his teammates playing their roles. More of the same would be great.

What are everyone's thoughts on how big the crowd will be tonight? I know the students are still on break, but I have to think this should be a much larger crowd than the Nebraska game. Hoping for 12,000+. I know I bought my parents two tickets as a Christmas gift and they'll be loud and proud!

Very large game. A win would give us a decent chance having a 6-1 record when we play Michigan, that would be fun. Hopefully a large, loud crowd helps put the gophers over the top tonight. Our recipe for big ten success so far seems to be Coffey being the best player on the floor and his teammates playing their roles. More of the same would be great.

I have some concerns about this game. Two things that the Gophers have done better than most teams in the league this year: rebound and get to the free throw line. I don't see us with a rebound edge against Maryland. Maryland has a higher rebound margin per game than us and their two big men are shown as first rounders on a number of mock draft boards. Like Oturu, Jalen Smith is a freshman but he's more skilled than Oturu although Oturu appears a little thicker and stronger. Some factors that may work in our favor:

1) they haven't gone to the line nearly as often as us;
2) they actually have a worse turnover margin than us;
3) they're less experienced than us (four or five freshmen play significant minutes and only one player above a soph plays significant minutes);
4) they've played a weaker schedule than us.

If Amir takes the reins for at least 2/3 of the game, Gophers win by 5.

"If these rafters could talk, imagine the stories they would tell... of the teams, and the players... the moments and the memories that have made Williams Arena one of the cathedrals of college basketball..."